


Chance Meetings

by Settiai



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Campaign 2 (Critical Role), Critmas Exchange, Gen, One Shot, Other Mighty Nein Members, Other Vox Machina Members, Post-Campaign 1 (Critical Role), Pre-Campaign 2 (Critical Role)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-01
Updated: 2020-01-01
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:01:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,285
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21996418
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Settiai/pseuds/Settiai
Summary: Chance is just another word for fate, when it all comes down to it.
Comments: 10
Kudos: 62
Collections: Critmas Exchange 2019





	Chance Meetings

**Author's Note:**

  * For [zephyr42](https://archiveofourown.org/users/zephyr42/gifts).



Caduceus barely remembered the first time he met Keyleth of Air Ashari, the Voice of the Tempest.

The Blooming Grove wasn't as crowded as it had been in his childhood, before family member after family member had left to search for a way to stop the blight that crept closer with every passing year. Aunts, uncles, cousins... it seemed that every time he blinked, someone else had left.

Still, there were plenty of others around when she came. His parents. His siblings. As one of the youngest, it wasn't his responsibility to take care of such an honored guest, a hero from another continent who had been granted one of the most powerful relics of the Wildmother. He had other jobs to do, and so he did them.

He only spoke to her once, when she had first arrived at the temple. All of them had been there to welcome her, as was expected. He had given her the traditional welcome, she had nodded in return, and that had been that.

If he was honest with himself, Caduceus had expected to never see her again. It was rare for people who didn't live nearby to return to the Blooming Grove.

Fate, on the other hand, had different ideas. As it so often did.

*

"Hello? Is anyone here? Constance? Cornelius?"

Caduceus straightened up at the sound of another voice echoing throughout the Blooming Grove. It was vaguely familiar, and he was fairly certain that he had heard it before, but it was not one of his family. He knew that he'd recognize the sound of one of them, no matter how long it had been.

He had not been alone long. It had only been a few weeks since the last of his siblings had set out, leaving him behind to guard their home and make certain the temple continued running its course. There had not been any visitors in that time. This would be the first one that he would be solely responsible for helping.

"Anyone?"

Caduceus shook his head, pushing his woolgathering to the side. His siblings and cousins had often teased him about that when they were younger, the fact that it was so easy for him to become distracted. As the sole cleric of the Wildmother left in the Blooming Grove, it wouldn't do for him to slip back into that habit.

"One moment!" Caduceus called out, standing up from the grave he'd been tending to. He brushed off the knees of his trousers, frowning a bit at the dirt stains clearly visible in them, before turning and heading in the direction of the voice.

It took less time than he expected to find the source of the voice, as a somewhat familiar red-haired half-elf stepped into his view a moment or two later. The woman came to a halt, her eyes widening a bit as she stared at him.

For his part, Caduceus only blinked once before recognition sunk in. He quickly nodded at her in greeting. "Lady Keyleth, right?" he asked.

"What?" she asked. Then she shook her head, a sheepish look appearing on her face. "Oh, sorry. I mean, yes. That's me. Lady Keyleth. Or, you know, just Keyleth. Just Keyleth works." She paused for a second. "I think that I remember you. They called you Little Cad the last time I was here?"

It was subtle, but Caduceus could hear the humor in her voice. He supposed that he could understand it, considering the height difference between them.

Still, he couldn't help but lower his ears just a bit at the childhood nickname that he'd never quite managed to outgrow. "That's right," he agreed. "Caduceus Clay. How can I help you?"

Keyleth gave him a bright smile. "I have a gift for the temple," she said, reaching into her pocket and bringing out what looked like a very finely made holy symbol of the Wildmother. "I promised Constance the last time I was here that I'd come back if I found anything else."

Caduceus raised his eyebrows at that. His mother hadn't mentioned anything like that to him but, then again, several of his siblings had still been there when she'd set out. She'd probably told some of them about whatever dealings she'd had with the Voice of the Tempest, and as more and more had left the details had eventually been forgotten.

Which was worrisome in its own way, as he couldn't help but wonder just what other knowledge had been lost as his family had left their home.

"Is that okay?" Keyleth asked slowly. "That I brought it here? It's a lot quieter here than it was last time."

Caduceus quickly nodded, pushing away his worried thoughts for another time. A better time. "Yes, of course," he agreed quickly. "Come with me. I'll make us some tea."

Her face lit up. "Oh, I like tea!"

*

"... and this is Vox Machina, the group that I told you about."

Caduceus wasn't particularly surprised to see a familiar face standing among the group of adventurers in front of them. Allura had given the Mighty Nein a brief explanation of why Vox Machina was so well-known in Tal'Dorei, and he'd recognized the story and a few of the names that she'd mentioned from Keyleth's own tales that she'd shared back in the Blooming Grove.

Keyleth gave him an awkward wave, although there was a smile on her face. "Caduceus!" she called out. "Hi! I didn't know you were the tall firbolg that Allura told us about!"

Everyone in the room, including Allura, turned to stare at her. Then, as one, they glanced towards him.

Caduceus shrugged. "I got tired of waiting for my family to come back to the Grove," he explained, ignoring the various looks being aimed at him. He was good at that. "I thought I'd go join them."

Keyleth nodded understandingly. "It was very, very quiet the last time I was there."

"I'm guessing that you two know each other?" a male gnome standing beside Keyleth asked curiously, breaking into their conversation.

At that, Keyleth blinked and looked around, suddenly seeming to realize just what types of looks she was drawing from everyone around her. Her face flushed red, but she otherwise managed to keep her composure fairly well. "Oh yes," she agreed. "His family runs the temple to Melora in Wildemount that I visit every now and then. The one that Tary told me about. He makes the best dead people tea."

A dark-haired half-elf woman standing near her blanched. "The best what?"

Beside Caduceus, Fjord leaned a little closer. "That staff that she's holding," he said slowly. "Is that—"

Allura clapped her hands together, effectively drawing everyone's attention back towards her. She glanced around them, and Caduceus belatedly remembered that they were still standing in the very public greeting hall in Emon.

"Perhaps we should continue this somewhere more private," she said, her tone only slightly forced. Then she added, a bit more quietly: "I don't know why I was expecting this to go any differently."

The gnomish man opened his mouth, snapping it shut without a word when the white-haired woman standing next to him elbowed him in the side.

Keyleth met Caduceus's gaze again and gave him a sheepish-looking shrug. "Sorry," she mouthed silently.

He just smiled at her. It was nice to see a familiar face, considering how far away from home he was just then. Maybe it was a good sign, that things were finally going their way again.

Or not. Only time would tell. Until then, at the very least he had some good tea tucked away in his bag to share with Keyleth and anyone else who was interested.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on Twitter. (https://twitter.com/settiai)


End file.
